Using an audit of medical student behavior to inform curriculum change

Abstract

Background: Hospitalized patients in South Africa have an HIV infection prevalence of at least 46%. Therefore, while involved in the experiential learning of practical skills, South African medical students have a high potential risk of an HIV exposure incident.

Purpose: The purpose is to identify what improvements could be made to the students' training program in an attempt to reduce the number of HIV exposure incidents.

Methods: A 4-year audit of undergraduate medical students' HIV exposure incidents was performed at a South African medical school. The existing skills training curriculum, which deals with the relevant skills, was reviewed in the light of the findings of this audit.

Results: The analysis showed that not all students follow standard precautions in their clinical work, or the guidelines given to them by the faculty of what to do in the event of an incident.

Conclusions: The reported behavior of students can be used to evaluate their training curriculum.